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We are looking for enthusiastic and highly motivated applicants, holding, or about to obtain an MSc degree or equivalent. The applicants should possess a strong interest in cancer research, molecular or cell biology, the ability to integrate in an international team and to master new research topics and experimental techniques. Prior experience with cell culture or tumor biology related assays would be an advantage.

Project Summary
Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide and in the vast majority of cases mortality is not due to the primary tumour, but to its metastatic dissemination to distant sites, coupled with the development of therapy resistance. Despite the enormous medical importance of metastasis, its molecular underpinnings remain insufficiently understood and there is an urgent need for novel or improved therapies for metastatic cancer. Tumour metastasis is a highly complex, multistep process that comprises local invasion of cells from the primary tumour, dissemination through the vasculature, colonization of distant sites and growth as secondary tumours. At all steps, cancer cells engage in intricate interactions with diverse cellular and molecular components in their microenvironment, including immune cells, fibroblasts, endothelial cells and the extracellular matrix. Furthermore, accumulating evidence indicates that different types of anti-cancer therapies, while holding the primary tumour in check, can simultaneously induce changes in tumour cells or their microenvironment that promote metastatic spread. Our lab has long-standing expertise in the study of the metastatic process, with a particular focus on changes in genes and signalling pathways that regulate tumour metastasis, as well as the role of the crosstalk between cancer cells and their microenvironment in this process.
The proposed project, which will be funded within the Research Training Group “Hallmarks of Skin Cancer” (http://www.rtg2099.de/), will be focused on metastatic melanoma, a highly aggressive cancer with poor prognosis. While significant progress in the management of melanoma has been achieved through molecularly targeted drugs and immunotherapy, these treatments only benefit a small fraction of the patients or are thwarted by the acquisition of resistance. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms mediating metastasis and therapy resistance in melanoma is therefore needed to improve existing treatments. Our previous work has identified genes, including osteopontin, CD44, Ier2 and Id1/3 that play crucial roles in controlling the metastatic potential of tumour cells, as well as their interplay with the tumour microenvironment. The project will aim to dissect the cellular and molecular mechanisms through which these genes interplay to control the capacity of melanoma cells to metastasise and acquire therapy resistance. We will investigate both intrinsic alterations in melanoma cells themselves, as well as changes in their communication with other cell types that are involved in supporting metastatic propensity or drug resistance. Furthermore, we will assess whether these changes lead to the establishment of a prometastatic niche that can support spontaneous or treatment-induced metastasis.

Application
Please send your application, including a motivation letter, CV, certificates, transcripts and contact information of referees or letters of reference to Dr. Boyan Garvalov
Email: Boyan.Garvalov at medma.uni-heidelberg.de;
Please cite reference ID “Jobvector 2018-06”.
In order to qualify for funding by the Research Training Group “Hallmarks of Skin Cancer”, pre-selected applicants must also pass the selection of the Hartmut Hoffmann-Berling International Graduate School of Molecular and Cellular Biology (HBIGS) at the University of Heidelberg (see http://www.hbigs.uni-heidelberg.de/main_application_requirements_regular.html for an outline of the selection procedure).

Methoden:

What We Offer
Our team offers an open, supportive, dynamic and motivating academic environment with excellent training opportunities. We have won a number of research grants and are involved in several national and international collaborative projects. We use a wide spectrum of methods: Cloning, cell culture, biochemistry, qRT-PCR, FACS, ELISA, cell-based assays (proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion, drug resistance etc.), shRNA/siRNA, transactivation assays, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated silencing, immunohistochemistry, light, epifluorescence and confocal microscopy, image analysis, in vivo animal tumour models